II PP II PP
Invited Paper
BALANCING FLUCTUATING WIND ENERGY WITH FOSSIL POWER STATIONS Where are the limits ? W. LEONHARD1, TU BRAUNSCHWEIG (GERMANY) K. MÜLLER2, HS BREMERHAVEN (GERMANY)
Summary Wind energy, fed to the grid to save resources and reduce emissions, requires control power for balancing fluctuations; this causes fuel losses in thermal power stations and limits the degree of energy substitution. Facilities for energy storage are needed when greatly extending wind power use off-shore, at the same time generating secondary fuel for stationary and mobile applications.
Introduction Our lives are based on energy for industrial production and the abolition of tiring physical labour, also for mobility and the use of countless computerand communication-devices. Because of the enormous quantities of energy consumed in industrial countries, the limitations of fossil resources and environmental effects are becoming visible and renewable energy sources receive increasing attention. Besides energy produced from storable hydro and biomass, which can be matched to the varying needs, wind and sun are considered as sustainable future resources; their conversion to electricity is publicly encouraged with moral arguments and large subsidies. However, using these resources for producing electricity is faced with the problem, that electricity must match the changing consumption 1. e-mail: W. [email protected] 2. e-mail: [email protected]
12 ELECTRA N°204 - AOctobre 2002
in real time, whereas the power from wind and sun follows its own laws of physics and is subject to seasonal and climatic changes as well as statistical effects; if the incident natural energy is not immediately converted it is lost. Hence large storage facilities would be needed to match supply and demand by preserving temporary surplus energy for periods of insufficient supply (allowing for unavoidable energy losses). While the development of such storage provisions is feasible in principle it would require changes of environmental policies, which are presently focussed on direct grid connection.
Wind energy to substitute fossil resources Feeding with priority wind-generated electrical energy into the supply grid is intended to subplant electricity from traditional power stations with the aim of reducing fuel consumption and emissions. When substituting power from hydro stations, emissions are not directly diminished, but natural energy is upgraded into storable and more valuable potential energy, making it available for later uses. However in Northern Germany, where wind farms are concentrated and wind power must predominantly be balanced by coal- or gas-fired generation, the situation is different; the conversion processes are slower and more complicated than with hydro stations and they can be operated only in a
F
Invited Paper
effects of energy substitution with the example of a fairly large grid supplied mainly by fossil power stations. A characteristic trace of the electrical grid load during a week is drawn in Fig. 1, showing the daily rhythm caused by the uncoordinated actions of millions of consumers. The load cannot be changed without interfering with industrial activities and living habits of the consumers but it can be reliably forecast for the next day. With known fuel costs and load dependent emissions of the available generating units, a cost- or emission-optimal schedule can thus be devised for the next day where the “better”, usually the more modern, generating stations are the preferred choice, as indicated in Fig. 1. Fig. 2 depicts examples of the efficiency vs. load curves of fossil generating units ; they are usually decreasing at part load; hence the specific fuel consumption and the emissions per kWh rise when the plants are operated outside the preferred optimum efficiency region. Naturally, the daily load forecast cannot be perfect due to load changes or disturbances at FIG. 1 : EXAMPLE OF GRID LOAD DURING A WEEK AND POWER STATION SCHEDULING, the generation side, making it VALID FOR THE NEXT DAY. necessary to superimpose on the projected schedule a corrective closed loop control, usually in the form of a secondary load/frequency control scheme. For this, an error quantity combining the frequency deviation with the unscheduled net power flow to the neighbouring grid is determined in each of the control areas, presently four in Germany; this quantity serves as input to a grid controller which computes references for balancing power. In a liberalized system, this power could in principle be injected into the grid by a contracted partner, but is accounted with the FIG. 2 : EFFICIENCY VS. LOAD CURVES FOR SOME COALAND GAS- FIRED GENERATING UNITS. requesting control area. restricted power range, for instance above half rated load. Priority wind energy pushes these generating stations towards part-load operation where the output-related fuel consumption and CO2 - emissions per kWh rise; hence part of the expected savings is not realized but evaporates in the form of hidden “control losses”. This raises, besides the cost, questions of how effective present environmental policies really are. Since the use of renewable energy is aimed at the substitution of fossil resources, an attempt is made here to quantify these
INVITED PAPERS ELECTRA is the journal of CIGRE Members. Nevertheless, a number of columns under the section ‘ Invited Papers ’ are now open to all contributors. This we hope will enhance exchanges between all players in the area of electrical power. If in your country you have information about significant events or innovation in the area of electricity, please share this with us. Your contribution (2 500 words maximum) should be sent directly to the Central Office or to your National Committee. It will then be forwarded to the Editing Committee. We rely on your collaboration, for which we thank you in advance.
No. 204 - October 2002 ELECTRA 13
Invited Paper
C O N T I N U E D
FIG. 3 : SIMPLIFIED
SCHEME OF GRID CONTROL WITH
Principle of a fuel-optimizing grid control scheme The control scheme is modelled in Fig. 3, containing the high voltage grid of a control area (separate from the continental grid) with the primary control of the generating units; it is subject to an integrating frequency controller which issues power demands for supplying secondary control power. Each of these n control units is drawn with a power control loop having a rate-ofchange limiter, e.g. 0.02 Prated/min, at the input. The lag of the power control may be about 2 min for small changes, while the dynamics of the grid control correspond to the usual 30 min settling time for secondary grid control. The inverse efficiency vs. load curves are indicated for each generating unit. If all efficiency curves decrease monotonously with the load, a steady state fuel optimum is reached when the m “best” among the n contracted units are running at full power, the “next best” station operates at part load and
14 ELECTRA N°204 - Octobre 2002
n
CONTROL POWER STATIONS.
the remaining n - m -1 stations are shutdown. However, this principle of “sequential control” sketched in Fig. 3, cannot be implemented at every instant as the demand for control power fluctuates and generating stations cannot arbitrarily be turned on and off. Instead, the units should remain in operation or be shut-down for several hours because of dynamic fuel losses and wear of the equipment, thus rendering the optimization problem more complicated; taking a thermal unit from cold condition to full load may take several hours and involves large fuel losses. Since the power of one generator alone may not be adequate to balance the short time power fluctuations, the scheme can be extended to i > 1 generating stations running at variable part-load, which may then be called a “group-sequential control mode”, where the i partly loaded stations are operating at the same percentage of rated power. For reducing the dynamical error of the integral grid control, dispatchable power components may serve as feedforward signals at the output of the grid controller, of course only a limited
Invited Paper
C O N T I N U E D
Protective Shut-down of windfarms
From wind measurements Wind generated power
FIG. 4 : LOSS
OF
2 500 MW
ON
FEBRUARY 26, 2002 IN E-ON (NORTH) SHUT-DOWN OF WINDFARMS.
option for the fluctuating wind-generated power. In contrast, substantial reserves are needed to cover unexpected loss of wind power, for instance caused by widespread protective shutdowns of windfarms at high wind velocities; the likelihood of such disturbances rises with the wind power and the power reserve should be adjusted accordingly. A marked example is seen in Fig. 4, when 2 500 MW of wind-generated power were lost in the E-ON grid (North) in a short time, caused by the protective shut-down of countless windfarms; such disturbances can only be countered with free generating capacity, hydro- or other fast-start generation, procured at high cost. The grid control then has also the task of providing adequate reserves by increasing the total maximum power of all active generating units beyond what is momentarily needed for frequency control; this again emphasizes the tendency towards a less than optimal partload operation. When the reserve power falls below a given limit, an additional unit must be started, selected on the basis of the cost- or emissionrelated sequence and observing the
GRID CAUSED BY PROTECTIVE
timing conditions; the control power references are then rearranged in accordance with the group-sequential control scheme described before; the inverse procedure applies, when the necessary control power decreases. Clearly, algorithms of considerable complexity are needed for grid control and standard control methods are inadequate; if necessary, the dispatcher in the control room has to interfere manually by requesting instant reserve power, for instance when the availability of generation equipment is impaired or in case of grid disturbances.
Simulation for estimating fuel saving For a quantitative estimation of the achievable fuel saving or CO2 -reduction the complete control system must be simulated over an extended period, at least a week, using records of grid load and wind power infeed and comparing the results to those without wind. The system under discussion includes 10 coal- and 3 gas-fired control units with a total rated power of 6 286 MW.
INVITED PAPERS ELECTRA is the journal of CIGRE Members. Nevertheless, a number of columns under the section ‘ Invited Papers ’ are now open to all contributors. This we hope will enhance exchanges between all players in the area of electrical power. If in your country you have information about significant events or innovation in the area of electricity, please share this with us. Your contribution (2 500 words maximum) should be sent directly to the Central Office or to your National Committee. It will then be forwarded to the Editing Committee. We rely on your collaboration, for which we thank you in advance.
No. 204 - October 2002 ELECTRA 15
Invited Paper
C O N T I N U E D
The plot in Fig. 5 serves as a test case, showing the recorded powerscenario in the E-ON grid (North) during the week of April 2-8, 2001 . The load energy during the test period is 1130 GWh, containing 3000 MW of base load generation; the recorded wind energy infeed is 150 GWh, less than 15 % of the total, but characterized by fluctuations and high peak power. Some days there was a non-typical stormy weather but the installed wind power generation capacity in Germany has grown since, from then
FIG. 5 : POWER-SCENARIO (GRID IN
LOAD AND WIND POWER INFEED) FOR A WEEK
APRIL 2001.
7 000 MW to about 10 000 MW today; further increases are to be expected with the prospective off-shore installations in the North and Baltic Seas, where 25 000 MW are projected by the year 2030. Fig. 6 depicts simulation results of the grid control with wind, ignoring base load generation. The activity during the week of the generating stations in terms of the perunit powers is seen in Fig. 7; units 5 and 8, respectively 6 and 7, are identical and are operated in parallel. Generating units with lower efficiency apparently serve as peaking units. They are only occasionally used. The fuel consumption during start-up of a generating unit can be represented by a lumped term depending on the rated power and the preceding cooling-off interval. With the same grid load but without infeed from wind, reference results are then obtained from the simulation model for comparison, where the reserve power is reduced to normal values. In fact, the simulation with and without wind power is performed in parallel with the same program; since the electrical transmission losses are neglected, the energy balance Load energy = Energy from power stations + Wind energy can serve as a convenient overall validity test.
FIG. 6 : SIMULATION RESULTS OF GRID CONTROL WITH WIND ACCORDING TO POWER SCENARIO IN
16 ELECTRA N°204 - Octobre 2002
FIG. 5, I = 3, 3, RESERVE POWER 1000 MW.
As a result, the curves in Fig. 8 illustrate the expected and the actually achievable cumulative fuel savings by wind power during the week, as well as the fuel wasted in the form of “control losses”. The 2 500 MW loss of wind power shown in Fig. 4 has also been examined, indicating that even a widespread shut-down of windfarms can be offset by the grid control, provided adequate reserve power is available on-line.
FIG.7 : PER-UNIT
Invited Paper
C O N T I N U E D
VALUES OF POWERS ACTIVATED BY THE CONTROLLER DURING THE TEST WITH WIND POWER INFEED.
Discussion of the results and Summary
fossil power stations (coal and gas), the secondary control system with its generating units and the associated grid controller has been modelled, subject Conservation of fossil resources to a power scenario observed in April and reduction of CO2-emissions are 2001, when the wind represented less major goals of environmental policies, than 15 % of the load energy; the wind where priority for wind energy and high power varied widely, unrelated to the compensation rates have lead to an grid load. unprecedented “wind energy boom”; The simulation results show that about 10 000 MW of generating capaceven at this low penetration of wind ity are now installed in Germany and energy, the infeed causes a hidden many more GW are planned from offincrease of the specific fuel consumpshore windfarms in the North and Baltic tion in remote fossil generating staSeas. This expansion of generation nattions; in other words, they are now prourally has effects on the electrical supducing less electrical energy but with ply grid, usually assumed as “infinite” a higher fuel consumption and CO2by the wind power industry. In order to emissions per kWh. Substantial power quantify the proclaimed savings in a reserves are necessary to guard against grid control area mainly supplied by uncertainties of the wind power forecast and possible protective shut-downs of windfarms, which further strengthens the tendency towards a less efficient part-load-operation of generating units. Since the total generating capacity cannot be reduced in view of possible periods without wind, this could make investments in power stations unprofitable and endanger the future security of supply. FIG.8 : EXPECTED AND ACHIEVABLE FUEL SAVING BY WIND ENERGY, CONTROL LOSSES.
INVITED PAPERS ELECTRA is the journal of CIGRE Members. Nevertheless, a number of columns under the section ‘ Invited Papers ’ are now open to all contributors. This we hope will enhance exchanges between all players in the area of electrical power. If in your country you have information about significant events or innovation in the area of electricity, please share this with us. Your contribution (2 500 words maximum) should be sent directly to the Central Office or to your National Committee. It will then be forwarded to the Editing Committee. We rely on your collaboration, for which we thank you in advance.
No. 204 - October 2002 ELECTRA 17
The results indicate that the frequent claims, electrical grids could be predominantly wind-supplied, are unrealistic. The simple reason is the discrepancy between the grid load and the variations of the spatial wind field; the grid load could only be modified by measures seriously affecting industrial activities (such as the temporary power cuts in the Californian energy crisis), while the wind field follows meteorological and aerodynamic laws and cannot be altered at all. By including wind power generation in the grid control, unpredictable power surges and high infeed to a lightly loaded grid could be mitigated, but this is not in the interest of the wind farm operators. These effects might be reduced by spreading the “control energy” for wind over larger areas, which would require the legal obligations in Germany (EEG) for accepting this energy at high cost to be extended to other countries. It is unlikely that a European consensus can be reached, where countries with large hydro and pumped storage facilities would provide the needed control energy because they too may have to import thermally produced energy in dry years; there is already concern in the Scandinavian system regarding the fluctuations caused by the heavy windpower infeed and the local combinedheat-and-power plants in Denmark which require much control energy and might necessitate strengthening the high voltage grid; there are intervals when the grid operator is giving away surplus energy or paying dearly to cover power deficits. Europe-wide balancing of wind power from 25 000 MW offshore generation would definitely call for expanding the high voltage system, transmission losses would also have to be taken into account. It has been suggested to employ combustion turbines with fuel produced from biomass for providing control energy but this might lead to undesirable agro-monocultures as in Brazil, where the ethanol for mixing with gaso-
© Siemens (Germany)
Invited Paper 18 ELECTRA N°204 - Octobre 2002
C O N T I N U E D
WIND POWER PLANTS (SCHLESWIG- HOLSTEIN)
line is produced with sugar cane plantations; also, it offers no help should an oversupply of wind energy coincide with periods of light grid load. The much discussed transition towards a decentralized structure of the energy supply with controllable “virtual power stations” can only provide a solution, when adequate renewable resources are available, combining sustainability and environmental compatibility; fuel cells with their high efficiency may help for guarding against unexpected service interruptions but they offer no sustainability as long as they are using fossil natural gas. This leaves only the development of large scale chemical storage (underground or on-board ships), exploiting the undoubtedly immense but fluctuating wind energy at sea for balancing electrical supply and demand and at the same time producing the fuel needed for future mobility; this would indeed be a long-term strategy. The authors wish to thank Dr. H. Bouillon, E-ON Netz, for data and valuable comments. ■ More details and some references are available in the Internet under <www. ifr.ing.tu-bs.de>
BALANCING FLUCTUATING WIND ENERGY WITH FOSSIL POWER STATIONS Where are the limits ? W. LEONHARD1, TU BRAUNSCHWEIG (GERMANY) K. MÜLLER2, HS BREMERHAVEN (GERMANY)
Summary Wind energy, fed to the grid to save resources and reduce emissions, requires control power for balancing fluctuations; this causes fuel losses in thermal power stations and limits the degree of energy substitution. Facilities for energy storage are needed when greatly extending wind power use off-shore, at the same time generating secondary fuel for stationary and mobile applications.
Introduction Our lives are based on energy for industrial production and the abolition of tiring physical labour, also for mobility and the use of countless computerand communication-devices. Because of the enormous quantities of energy consumed in industrial countries, the limitations of fossil resources and environmental effects are becoming visible and renewable energy sources receive increasing attention. Besides energy produced from storable hydro and biomass, which can be matched to the varying needs, wind and sun are considered as sustainable future resources; their conversion to electricity is publicly encouraged with moral arguments and large subsidies. However, using these resources for producing electricity is faced with the problem, that electricity must match the changing consumption 1. e-mail: W. [email protected] 2. e-mail: [email protected]
12 ELECTRA N°204 - AOctobre 2002
in real time, whereas the power from wind and sun follows its own laws of physics and is subject to seasonal and climatic changes as well as statistical effects; if the incident natural energy is not immediately converted it is lost. Hence large storage facilities would be needed to match supply and demand by preserving temporary surplus energy for periods of insufficient supply (allowing for unavoidable energy losses). While the development of such storage provisions is feasible in principle it would require changes of environmental policies, which are presently focussed on direct grid connection.
Wind energy to substitute fossil resources Feeding with priority wind-generated electrical energy into the supply grid is intended to subplant electricity from traditional power stations with the aim of reducing fuel consumption and emissions. When substituting power from hydro stations, emissions are not directly diminished, but natural energy is upgraded into storable and more valuable potential energy, making it available for later uses. However in Northern Germany, where wind farms are concentrated and wind power must predominantly be balanced by coal- or gas-fired generation, the situation is different; the conversion processes are slower and more complicated than with hydro stations and they can be operated only in a
F
Invited Paper
effects of energy substitution with the example of a fairly large grid supplied mainly by fossil power stations. A characteristic trace of the electrical grid load during a week is drawn in Fig. 1, showing the daily rhythm caused by the uncoordinated actions of millions of consumers. The load cannot be changed without interfering with industrial activities and living habits of the consumers but it can be reliably forecast for the next day. With known fuel costs and load dependent emissions of the available generating units, a cost- or emission-optimal schedule can thus be devised for the next day where the “better”, usually the more modern, generating stations are the preferred choice, as indicated in Fig. 1. Fig. 2 depicts examples of the efficiency vs. load curves of fossil generating units ; they are usually decreasing at part load; hence the specific fuel consumption and the emissions per kWh rise when the plants are operated outside the preferred optimum efficiency region. Naturally, the daily load forecast cannot be perfect due to load changes or disturbances at FIG. 1 : EXAMPLE OF GRID LOAD DURING A WEEK AND POWER STATION SCHEDULING, the generation side, making it VALID FOR THE NEXT DAY. necessary to superimpose on the projected schedule a corrective closed loop control, usually in the form of a secondary load/frequency control scheme. For this, an error quantity combining the frequency deviation with the unscheduled net power flow to the neighbouring grid is determined in each of the control areas, presently four in Germany; this quantity serves as input to a grid controller which computes references for balancing power. In a liberalized system, this power could in principle be injected into the grid by a contracted partner, but is accounted with the FIG. 2 : EFFICIENCY VS. LOAD CURVES FOR SOME COALAND GAS- FIRED GENERATING UNITS. requesting control area. restricted power range, for instance above half rated load. Priority wind energy pushes these generating stations towards part-load operation where the output-related fuel consumption and CO2 - emissions per kWh rise; hence part of the expected savings is not realized but evaporates in the form of hidden “control losses”. This raises, besides the cost, questions of how effective present environmental policies really are. Since the use of renewable energy is aimed at the substitution of fossil resources, an attempt is made here to quantify these
INVITED PAPERS ELECTRA is the journal of CIGRE Members. Nevertheless, a number of columns under the section ‘ Invited Papers ’ are now open to all contributors. This we hope will enhance exchanges between all players in the area of electrical power. If in your country you have information about significant events or innovation in the area of electricity, please share this with us. Your contribution (2 500 words maximum) should be sent directly to the Central Office or to your National Committee. It will then be forwarded to the Editing Committee. We rely on your collaboration, for which we thank you in advance.
No. 204 - October 2002 ELECTRA 13
Invited Paper
C O N T I N U E D
FIG. 3 : SIMPLIFIED
SCHEME OF GRID CONTROL WITH
Principle of a fuel-optimizing grid control scheme The control scheme is modelled in Fig. 3, containing the high voltage grid of a control area (separate from the continental grid) with the primary control of the generating units; it is subject to an integrating frequency controller which issues power demands for supplying secondary control power. Each of these n control units is drawn with a power control loop having a rate-ofchange limiter, e.g. 0.02 Prated/min, at the input. The lag of the power control may be about 2 min for small changes, while the dynamics of the grid control correspond to the usual 30 min settling time for secondary grid control. The inverse efficiency vs. load curves are indicated for each generating unit. If all efficiency curves decrease monotonously with the load, a steady state fuel optimum is reached when the m “best” among the n contracted units are running at full power, the “next best” station operates at part load and
14 ELECTRA N°204 - Octobre 2002
n
CONTROL POWER STATIONS.
the remaining n - m -1 stations are shutdown. However, this principle of “sequential control” sketched in Fig. 3, cannot be implemented at every instant as the demand for control power fluctuates and generating stations cannot arbitrarily be turned on and off. Instead, the units should remain in operation or be shut-down for several hours because of dynamic fuel losses and wear of the equipment, thus rendering the optimization problem more complicated; taking a thermal unit from cold condition to full load may take several hours and involves large fuel losses. Since the power of one generator alone may not be adequate to balance the short time power fluctuations, the scheme can be extended to i > 1 generating stations running at variable part-load, which may then be called a “group-sequential control mode”, where the i partly loaded stations are operating at the same percentage of rated power. For reducing the dynamical error of the integral grid control, dispatchable power components may serve as feedforward signals at the output of the grid controller, of course only a limited
Invited Paper
C O N T I N U E D
Protective Shut-down of windfarms
From wind measurements Wind generated power
FIG. 4 : LOSS
OF
2 500 MW
ON
FEBRUARY 26, 2002 IN E-ON (NORTH) SHUT-DOWN OF WINDFARMS.
option for the fluctuating wind-generated power. In contrast, substantial reserves are needed to cover unexpected loss of wind power, for instance caused by widespread protective shutdowns of windfarms at high wind velocities; the likelihood of such disturbances rises with the wind power and the power reserve should be adjusted accordingly. A marked example is seen in Fig. 4, when 2 500 MW of wind-generated power were lost in the E-ON grid (North) in a short time, caused by the protective shut-down of countless windfarms; such disturbances can only be countered with free generating capacity, hydro- or other fast-start generation, procured at high cost. The grid control then has also the task of providing adequate reserves by increasing the total maximum power of all active generating units beyond what is momentarily needed for frequency control; this again emphasizes the tendency towards a less than optimal partload operation. When the reserve power falls below a given limit, an additional unit must be started, selected on the basis of the cost- or emissionrelated sequence and observing the
GRID CAUSED BY PROTECTIVE
timing conditions; the control power references are then rearranged in accordance with the group-sequential control scheme described before; the inverse procedure applies, when the necessary control power decreases. Clearly, algorithms of considerable complexity are needed for grid control and standard control methods are inadequate; if necessary, the dispatcher in the control room has to interfere manually by requesting instant reserve power, for instance when the availability of generation equipment is impaired or in case of grid disturbances.
Simulation for estimating fuel saving For a quantitative estimation of the achievable fuel saving or CO2 -reduction the complete control system must be simulated over an extended period, at least a week, using records of grid load and wind power infeed and comparing the results to those without wind. The system under discussion includes 10 coal- and 3 gas-fired control units with a total rated power of 6 286 MW.
INVITED PAPERS ELECTRA is the journal of CIGRE Members. Nevertheless, a number of columns under the section ‘ Invited Papers ’ are now open to all contributors. This we hope will enhance exchanges between all players in the area of electrical power. If in your country you have information about significant events or innovation in the area of electricity, please share this with us. Your contribution (2 500 words maximum) should be sent directly to the Central Office or to your National Committee. It will then be forwarded to the Editing Committee. We rely on your collaboration, for which we thank you in advance.
No. 204 - October 2002 ELECTRA 15
Invited Paper
C O N T I N U E D
The plot in Fig. 5 serves as a test case, showing the recorded powerscenario in the E-ON grid (North) during the week of April 2-8, 2001 . The load energy during the test period is 1130 GWh, containing 3000 MW of base load generation; the recorded wind energy infeed is 150 GWh, less than 15 % of the total, but characterized by fluctuations and high peak power. Some days there was a non-typical stormy weather but the installed wind power generation capacity in Germany has grown since, from then
FIG. 5 : POWER-SCENARIO (GRID IN
LOAD AND WIND POWER INFEED) FOR A WEEK
APRIL 2001.
7 000 MW to about 10 000 MW today; further increases are to be expected with the prospective off-shore installations in the North and Baltic Seas, where 25 000 MW are projected by the year 2030. Fig. 6 depicts simulation results of the grid control with wind, ignoring base load generation. The activity during the week of the generating stations in terms of the perunit powers is seen in Fig. 7; units 5 and 8, respectively 6 and 7, are identical and are operated in parallel. Generating units with lower efficiency apparently serve as peaking units. They are only occasionally used. The fuel consumption during start-up of a generating unit can be represented by a lumped term depending on the rated power and the preceding cooling-off interval. With the same grid load but without infeed from wind, reference results are then obtained from the simulation model for comparison, where the reserve power is reduced to normal values. In fact, the simulation with and without wind power is performed in parallel with the same program; since the electrical transmission losses are neglected, the energy balance Load energy = Energy from power stations + Wind energy can serve as a convenient overall validity test.
FIG. 6 : SIMULATION RESULTS OF GRID CONTROL WITH WIND ACCORDING TO POWER SCENARIO IN
16 ELECTRA N°204 - Octobre 2002
FIG. 5, I = 3, 3, RESERVE POWER 1000 MW.
As a result, the curves in Fig. 8 illustrate the expected and the actually achievable cumulative fuel savings by wind power during the week, as well as the fuel wasted in the form of “control losses”. The 2 500 MW loss of wind power shown in Fig. 4 has also been examined, indicating that even a widespread shut-down of windfarms can be offset by the grid control, provided adequate reserve power is available on-line.
FIG.7 : PER-UNIT
Invited Paper
C O N T I N U E D
VALUES OF POWERS ACTIVATED BY THE CONTROLLER DURING THE TEST WITH WIND POWER INFEED.
Discussion of the results and Summary
fossil power stations (coal and gas), the secondary control system with its generating units and the associated grid controller has been modelled, subject Conservation of fossil resources to a power scenario observed in April and reduction of CO2-emissions are 2001, when the wind represented less major goals of environmental policies, than 15 % of the load energy; the wind where priority for wind energy and high power varied widely, unrelated to the compensation rates have lead to an grid load. unprecedented “wind energy boom”; The simulation results show that about 10 000 MW of generating capaceven at this low penetration of wind ity are now installed in Germany and energy, the infeed causes a hidden many more GW are planned from offincrease of the specific fuel consumpshore windfarms in the North and Baltic tion in remote fossil generating staSeas. This expansion of generation nattions; in other words, they are now prourally has effects on the electrical supducing less electrical energy but with ply grid, usually assumed as “infinite” a higher fuel consumption and CO2by the wind power industry. In order to emissions per kWh. Substantial power quantify the proclaimed savings in a reserves are necessary to guard against grid control area mainly supplied by uncertainties of the wind power forecast and possible protective shut-downs of windfarms, which further strengthens the tendency towards a less efficient part-load-operation of generating units. Since the total generating capacity cannot be reduced in view of possible periods without wind, this could make investments in power stations unprofitable and endanger the future security of supply. FIG.8 : EXPECTED AND ACHIEVABLE FUEL SAVING BY WIND ENERGY, CONTROL LOSSES.
INVITED PAPERS ELECTRA is the journal of CIGRE Members. Nevertheless, a number of columns under the section ‘ Invited Papers ’ are now open to all contributors. This we hope will enhance exchanges between all players in the area of electrical power. If in your country you have information about significant events or innovation in the area of electricity, please share this with us. Your contribution (2 500 words maximum) should be sent directly to the Central Office or to your National Committee. It will then be forwarded to the Editing Committee. We rely on your collaboration, for which we thank you in advance.
No. 204 - October 2002 ELECTRA 17
The results indicate that the frequent claims, electrical grids could be predominantly wind-supplied, are unrealistic. The simple reason is the discrepancy between the grid load and the variations of the spatial wind field; the grid load could only be modified by measures seriously affecting industrial activities (such as the temporary power cuts in the Californian energy crisis), while the wind field follows meteorological and aerodynamic laws and cannot be altered at all. By including wind power generation in the grid control, unpredictable power surges and high infeed to a lightly loaded grid could be mitigated, but this is not in the interest of the wind farm operators. These effects might be reduced by spreading the “control energy” for wind over larger areas, which would require the legal obligations in Germany (EEG) for accepting this energy at high cost to be extended to other countries. It is unlikely that a European consensus can be reached, where countries with large hydro and pumped storage facilities would provide the needed control energy because they too may have to import thermally produced energy in dry years; there is already concern in the Scandinavian system regarding the fluctuations caused by the heavy windpower infeed and the local combinedheat-and-power plants in Denmark which require much control energy and might necessitate strengthening the high voltage grid; there are intervals when the grid operator is giving away surplus energy or paying dearly to cover power deficits. Europe-wide balancing of wind power from 25 000 MW offshore generation would definitely call for expanding the high voltage system, transmission losses would also have to be taken into account. It has been suggested to employ combustion turbines with fuel produced from biomass for providing control energy but this might lead to undesirable agro-monocultures as in Brazil, where the ethanol for mixing with gaso-
© Siemens (Germany)
Invited Paper 18 ELECTRA N°204 - Octobre 2002
C O N T I N U E D
WIND POWER PLANTS (SCHLESWIG- HOLSTEIN)
line is produced with sugar cane plantations; also, it offers no help should an oversupply of wind energy coincide with periods of light grid load. The much discussed transition towards a decentralized structure of the energy supply with controllable “virtual power stations” can only provide a solution, when adequate renewable resources are available, combining sustainability and environmental compatibility; fuel cells with their high efficiency may help for guarding against unexpected service interruptions but they offer no sustainability as long as they are using fossil natural gas. This leaves only the development of large scale chemical storage (underground or on-board ships), exploiting the undoubtedly immense but fluctuating wind energy at sea for balancing electrical supply and demand and at the same time producing the fuel needed for future mobility; this would indeed be a long-term strategy. The authors wish to thank Dr. H. Bouillon, E-ON Netz, for data and valuable comments. ■ More details and some references are available in the Internet under <www. ifr.ing.tu-bs.de>
